Angela Barnes (a.k.a. Diyay)

Bio:

From as far back as she can remember, Angela Barnes has always sung; she has loved performing in front of people, whether they be a crowd of one or of many. Her first musical debut was at an uncle’s wedding at age 5. Angela studied classical voice while in junior high and high school, and vocal jazz while in college. In 2003 she embarked on a 2-year professional musical journey. Leaving her day job, Angela toured with several bands, mainly in the California reggae circuit. She has backed up reggae bands Jativa and Santa Cruz’s very own Soul Majestic. While recording backup vocals for Jativa’s first album, producer Haile Maskel took an interest in her musical talent and decided to take her under his wing. She then became part of the 101 Band while Maskel encouraged her to work on her own solo album. In 2004 her first single, “I Wanna Love You,” was released by LinkTime for digital download under her nickname “Diyay”. Angela decided to put the music on hold in 2006 to focus all her love and energy on her first child. Today she is the mother of two beautiful children and though she misses the stage, she is currently working on her solo album and preparing for her musical comeback. Her most current tracks can be heard on www.myspace.com/diyay.

Member Since:

October 30, 2003

Members:

the 101 Band: HAILE MASKEL (vox, bass); RAS B (vox, drums); JAWGE HUGHES (vox, keys); MARK "INEYARD" TYSON (guits); ERIC ENDO (guits); COMPUTER BIG (vox, keys, percussion)

Influences:

Haile Maskel, Björk, Bob Marley, India Arie, Jill Scott, Ledisi, Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Alycia Keys, Luther Vandross, Ella Fitzgerald, Elizabeth Prescott, Saul Williams, The Watts Prophets, Troy Duffy, Ayn Rand, Osho, Marion Zimmer-Bradley, Alton Brown, and my iMac.

Sounds Like:

me with a little bit of them. ..

Record Label:

Opulence Sound